Stirred and Shaken

Who is T.K. Bitterman? The answer is, there is no such person. Regardless, there is a T.K. Bitterman's (2010 West Alabama, 713-529-8979), a Montrose-area watering hole that has been serving them up for some 16 years. It's a bar where Houston's tiny film community imbibes. Odd, really. The establishment, with its Chicago Cubs-intensive decor, is so non-Hollywood. But that, perhaps, is its charm. Owner and operator Ken Marshall has a favorite cocktail. It requires rye whiskey, a liquor not much consumed at the Cannes Film Festival. He uses it to make his Perfect Manhattan. It is a beauty of a drink, guaranteed to put your camera out of focus.

T.K. Bitterman's Perfect Manhattan: The first sip is dry. Then the other ingredients kick in, and it becomes rather lush, if I may use the term. This is a whiskey cocktail the way our parents drank them.